The Knuckleheads of the Day award

Today's winners are Mary Ellen Beatty and The Florida Board of Medicine. Dr. Beatty gets today's award for operating the third time in five years. The Board instead of revoking this moron's license, suspends her for one year but if she is good it will last only a month. I say three strikes and you need a new job. How would this board like if she was their surgeon? I'm sure they won't ever go to Dr. Beatty ever.

For failing the citizens of Florida, Mary Ellen Beatty and The Florida Board of Medicine are today's Knuckleheads of the day.

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TAMPA -- The Florida Board of Medicine temporarily suspended a Tampa hand surgeon they said operated on the wrong body part of patient -- her third such mistake.

Mary Ellen Beatty also received a $20,000 fine Friday, the highest penalty the board can levy. The board said Beatty made the same type of mistake three times in five years and less-severe punishments the first two times did not have the desired effect.

Beatty is a founding member of the Florida Orthopaedic Institute. After the hearing, Beatty and her attorney declined to comment.

However, Florida Orthopaedic Institute issued a written statement.

``As a result of this incident, we made additional improvements to ensure that our policy went above and beyond community standards in the provision of patient safety,'' the statement said.

Beatty was operating at the surgery center in September 2004 when she made an incision on the patient's ring finger, state health department records showed. When she discovered the error, the records said, she closed the incision and performed the operation on the correct finger.

Beatty also operated on a man's ring finger instead of his thumb and performed the wrong procedure on another patient's hand.

Beatty received a one-year suspension, but she will have to serve only one month if there are no further problems. She will be on probation for two years.